The Bookseller - The Book of Dusthttps://www.thebookseller.com/tags-bookseller/book-dust
enSheen returns to narrate new Philip Pullman audiobookhttps://www.thebookseller.com/news/sheen-returns-narrate-philip-pullman-audiobook-1046466
<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.thebookseller.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/Book%20of%20Dust%20192x181.png?itok=F74vgKn-" width="192" height="181" alt="The Secret Commonwealth" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><a href="https://www.thebookseller.com/news/sheen-hugely-excited-narrate-la-belle-sauvage-614581">Michael Sheen</a>, who narrated the first volume of Philip Pullman’s The Book of Dust series, will return to the studio to&nbsp;narrate volume two, <em>The Secret Commonwealth</em>.</p>
<p>Sheen will narrate the UK and US versions of <em>The Secret Commonwealth: The Book of Dust Volume Two</em>, which will be released along with the hardback and e-book on 3rd October, by David Fickling Books in association with Penguin Random House Children’s in the UK.</p>
<p>Sheen said: “There’s something wonderful about being so immersed in a world that I love so much: that’s the great privilege of narrating this audiobook. The worlds and characters that Philip Pullman has created matter; they mean a lot to me and to other people as well, and I hope that Philip’s happy with my interpretation of the characters, their dynamics and relationships.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/Michael%20Sheen%20in%20studio%202.png" style="width: 600px; height: 337px; margin: 5px;"></p>
<p>“I’ve become so invested in Lyra through the His Dark Materials series and into this new one. In<em> The Secret Commonwealth</em> I found myself so moved by what she goes through and what she’s struggling with.”</p>
<p>Pullman said: “I am thrilled that Michael Sheen will be returning to read the audiobook of <em>The Secret Commonwealth</em>. Michael was phenomenal in his reading of the characters in <em>La Belle Sauvage</em>, even leading to an award win last year. I have no doubt that listeners will continue to be moved and entertained by his exhilarating performance.”</p>
<p>Richard Lennon, publishing director, Penguin Random House Audio, added: “Michael Sheen’s performance of <em>The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage</em> was truly phenomenal and has won him numerous awards, including <a href="https://www.thebookseller.com/british-book-awards/winners/2018#">Audiobook of the Year at the British Book Awards in 2018</a>. You can hear Michael’s passion for Philip Pullman’s work in every syllable and it is a privilege to be working with him again for <em>The Secret Commonwealth.</em> I can’t wait for fans to be able to hear this unforgettable production.”</p>
</div></div></div> <span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2019-07-29T14:15:00+01:00">July 29, 2019</span><li class="item-inline"><a href="/article-type/news">news</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/categories/childrens">childrens</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/tags-bookseller/michael-sheen">Michael Sheen</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/tag/philip-pullman">Philip Pullman</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/tags-bookseller/book-dust">The Book of Dust</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/tags-bookseller/penguin-random-house">Penguin Random House</a></li><div class="field field-name-field-subscriber field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Subscriber :&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">0</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-premium field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">premium:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">0</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-sticky-to-category field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Sticky at top of category lists:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div>Tue, 30 Jul 2019 11:00:53 +0000Charlotte Eyre1046466 at https://www.thebookseller.comhttps://www.thebookseller.com/news/sheen-returns-narrate-philip-pullman-audiobook-1046466#commentsPullman to launch Book of Dust sequel with live podcast as cover revealed https://www.thebookseller.com/news/more-details-revealed-pullman-s-secret-commonwealth-1019441
<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.thebookseller.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/Philip%20Pullman%202018%20192x181_2.png?itok=VJurB17r" width="192" height="181" alt="Philip Pullman" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>The cover of Philip Pullman’s latest novel<em>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.thebookseller.com/news/lyra-returns-pullman-s-second-book-dust-961726">The Secret Commonwealth</a>&nbsp;</em>has been revealed as&nbsp;Penguin Random House (PRH) and David Fickling Books (DFB) release more details about the highly-anticipated sequel to&nbsp;<em>La Belle Sauvage: The Book of Dust Volume One</em>.</p>
<p>Illustrated by Chris Wormell, the cover of the second volume of The Book of Dust series&nbsp;depicts a train travelling at speed, reflecting the journey Lyra Silvertongue, now a 20-year-old Oxford student, takes across Europe and Asia.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/jun/10/philip-pullman-secret-commonwealth-extract-book-of-dust?utm_source=dlvr.it&amp;utm_medium=facebook&amp;fbclid=IwAR1dJ4uFUrS-8zFDyRNab3KByex34evusffFfCM4TyIAvaP8f7KJus1Zxog">An&nbsp;extract from the new book</a>, published tomorrow&nbsp;in the <em>Guardian Review,&nbsp;</em>reveals how Lyra flees Oxford by boat for the third time in her life, this time in the company of the gyptian Giorgio Brabandt, and seeks out an elusive town, said to be haunted by daemons.</p>
<p><span class="floatright"><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/The%20Secret%20Commonwealth%20cover%20-%20FINAL.jpg" style="width: 300px; height: 462px; margin: 5px; float:right;"></span>PRH and DFB are releasing three editions of <em>The Secret Commonwealth</em>, which will be published on 3rd October.&nbsp;The&nbsp;£20 standard hardback edition, will feature a foiled cover and spine, a map of Lyra’s journey and illustrated chapter heads. A £20 special edition for independent bookshops featuring a frontispiece illustration by Chris Wormell and bespoke endpapers is also planned as well as a £40 signed slipcase hardback edition for Waterstones&nbsp;featuring an embossed raven dæmon (Pullman’s dæmon of choice).&nbsp;The publishers&nbsp;will also create point-of-sale materials for retailers, including exclusive items for independents such as tote bags and Wormell-designed enamel pins. Signed stock of the independent edition will also be available.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Pullman will take part in two events to promote the book, one at <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/events/exclusive-launch-of-the-secret-commonwealth-the-book-of-dust-volume-two-with-philip-pullman-and-guests">Alexandra Palace in London </a>"will take readers on a thrilling journey into Lyra’s alternate world" on 2nd October and the other at <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/">The Sheldonian Theatre</a> in Pullman's hometown of Oxford on 6th October, which will be recorded live for the Penguin Podcast. Tickets go on sale today. Blackwell’s and Waterstones will support the two events at publication, in Oxford and London respectively.</p>
<p>The second title in the Book of Dust series is set 20 years after the events of<em> La Belle Sauvage: The Book of Dust Volume One</em> and seven years after readers left Lyra and Will Parry on a park bench in <em>The Amber Spyglass</em>, the final book in the His Dark Materials trilogy.</p>
<p>In February Pullman said: “Things have been biding their time, waiting for the right moment to reveal their consequences for Lyra Silvertongue. <em>The Secret Commonwealth</em> tells the continuing story of the impact on Lyra’s life of the search for, and the fear of, Dust. I found it intriguing and deeply exciting to discover how great events can turn on a little moment, and how revenge can be nurtured and fed and watered till it grows beyond control.”</p>
</div></div></div> <span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2019-06-06T15:15:00+01:00">June 6, 2019</span><li class="item-inline"><a href="/article-type/news">news</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/categories/childrens">childrens</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/tag/philip-pullman">Philip Pullman</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/tags-bookseller/secret-commonwealth">The Secret Commonwealth</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/tags-bookseller/book-dust">The Book of Dust</a></li><div class="field field-name-field-subscriber field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Subscriber :&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">0</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-premium field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">premium:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">0</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-sticky-to-category field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Sticky at top of category lists:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div>Thu, 06 Jun 2019 23:01:00 +0000Charlotte Eyre1019441 at https://www.thebookseller.comhttps://www.thebookseller.com/news/more-details-revealed-pullman-s-secret-commonwealth-1019441#commentsNew Philip Pullman novel to be released in Octoberhttps://www.thebookseller.com/news/lyra-returns-pullman-s-second-book-dust-961726
<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.thebookseller.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/Philip%20Pullman%202017.png?itok=nfMRBVoa" width="192" height="181" alt="Philip Pullman" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Lyra Silvertongue, the heroine of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, will return as an adult in<em> The Secret Commonwealth: The Book of Dust Volume Two</em>, which will be released on 3rd October this year.</p>
<p>The second title in the Book of Dust series is set 20 years after the events of <em>La Belle Sauvage: The Book of Dust Volume One</em> and seven years after readers left Lyra and Will Parry on a park bench in <em>The Amber Spyglass</em>, the final book in the His Dark Materials trilogy.</p>
<p>In&nbsp;<em>The Secret Commonwealth</em> Lyra ventures across Europe and into Asia in search of an elusive town, said to be haunted by daemons. She is at odds with her own daemon, Pantalaimon, after they unwittingly witness a murder. An extract is available <a href="http://penguin.co.uk/articles/2019/feb/philip-pullman-announces-the-secret-commonwealth-the-book-of-dust-volume-two">online</a>.</p>
<p><span class="floatright"><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/The%20Secret%20Commonwealth%20-%20holding%20jacket%20image.jpg" style="width: 300px; height: 462px; margin: 5px; float:right;"></span>Pullman said: “Things have been biding their time, waiting for the right moment to reveal their consequences for Lyra Silvertongue. <em>The Secret Commonwealth</em> tells the continuing story of the impact on Lyra’s life of the search for, and the fear of, Dust. I found it intriguing and deeply exciting to discover how great events can turn on a little moment, and how revenge can be nurtured and fed and watered till it grows beyond control.</p>
<p>“Life is not easy for Lyra. It was enthralling for me to remember how powerfully and passionately our minds and opinions can be turned by reading a particular book at the right time. Lyra, as a student, is finding that out. She is also discovering a new and difficult aspect to her relationship with Pantalaimon, and other things about dæmons that she never suspected.</p>
<p>“But those things are background. At the heart of the book are Lyra, the young woman we saw first as a girl of twelve and then as a baby, and Malcolm, whose life as a boy became involved with hers and who now finds their lives helplessly entangled again; and how some emotions can last a lifetime, and others change beyond recognition. It’s the story of some people we know, and others we’ll meet for the first time. Their journey is going to take them far from their homeland towards a mysterious desert in Central Asia, where they hope to find, at last, the secret of Dust.”</p>
<p><em>The Secret Commonwealth </em>will be published by David Fickling Books in association with Penguin Random House UK in hardback, e-book and audiobook on 3rd October. Chris Wormell is again illustrating the cover and chapter headings.</p>
<p>David Fickling, publisher and editor at David Fickling Books, said: “When Philip told me the next volume of The Book of Dust was about Lyra as a student I was thrilled: not because I expected Lyra to be the same as she was (Philip does not repeat himself), but because I so wanted to meet the young woman she’s become. And now, amazingly, I have and I am not disappointed. The story is quite astonishing: without doubt, Philip is one of the most important writers on the planet.”</p>
<p>The main three titles in the His Dark Materials series have sold nearly 2.4 million copies through Nielsen BookScan, but that total reaches 2.035 million when gift editions, hardbacks and film-tie-ins are taken into account. La Belle Sauvage has sold 334,884 in hardback and a further 76,813 in paperback and in total Pullman has sold 6.9 million books for £48.4m.</p>
<p>Filming on a TV adaptation of His Dark Materials, written by Jack Thorne and directed by Tom Hooper, has now wrapped. The cast includes Ruth Wilson, James McAvoy, Anne-Marie Duff, Clarke Peters and Lin-Manuel Miranda.</p>
</div></div></div> <span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2019-02-26T12:15:00+00:00">February 26, 2019</span><li class="item-inline"><a href="/article-type/news">news</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/categories/books">books</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/categories/childrens">childrens</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/tag/philip-pullman">Philip Pullman</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/tags-bookseller/book-dust">The Book of Dust</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/tag/david-fickling">David Fickling</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/tag/david-fickling-books">David Fickling Books</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/tags-bookseller/penguin-random-house">Penguin Random House</a></li><div class="field field-name-field-subscriber field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Subscriber :&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">0</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-premium field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">premium:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">0</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-sticky-to-category field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Sticky at top of category lists:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div>Wed, 27 Feb 2019 00:01:00 +0000Charlotte Eyre961726 at https://www.thebookseller.comhttps://www.thebookseller.com/news/lyra-returns-pullman-s-second-book-dust-961726#commentsIndies offered chance to win Pullman visithttps://www.thebookseller.com/news/indies-offered-chance-win-pullman-visit-771201
<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.thebookseller.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/2018/04/20/Philip%20Pullman%20Oxford%20192x181_0.png?itok=fxoR9IVM" width="192" height="181" alt="Philip Pullman" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Independent bookshops are being offered the chance to win a visit from Philip Pullman during Independent Bookshop Week in June, ahead of the paperback publication of <em>La Belle Sauvage: The Book of Dust Volume One</em> in the autumn.</p>
<p>Bookshops can pitch for the visit <a href="https://1.shortstack.com/DxHGBJ?utm_source=Direct">online</a> by outlining details of what kind of event they would host, including details of the format, look and desired date. Pullman will visit three winning bookshops, which will also each receive £300 to help fund their events.</p>
<p>In another <a href="https://1.shortstack.com/J09zmJ">online competition</a>, 300 bookshops will be offered a ‘Philip Pullman Collection’, containing the seven titles that span the author's body of work: the three volumes of His Dark Materials, <em>La Belle Sauvage: The Book of Dust, Daemon Voices: Essays on Storytelling, Clockwork</em> and <em>The Firework-Maker’s Daughter</em>, to give to their customers in a prize.</p>
<p>“There’s nowhere more delightful to visit than a local bookshop," said Pullman. "I hope people will enjoy all the wonderful authors and illustrators whose books they’ll see in the windows and find on the tables during Independent Bookshop Week.”</p>
<p>The prizes are being organised by Pullman’s publishers David Fickling Books and Penguin Random House Children’s, which published&nbsp;<em>La Belle Sauvage</em>, and Scholastic, which released the His Dark Materials trilogy.</p>
<p>Separately, Penguin Random House Children’s will release refreshed editions of six of Pullman’s fairytales with artwork by Peter Bailey - <em>Clockwork, I Was a Rat!, The Firework-Maker’s Daughter, The Scarecrow and His Servant, Count Karlstein </em>and <em>Spring-Heeled Jack</em> - on 7th June.</p>
<p>The paperback of <a href="https://www.thebookseller.com/british-book-awards/shortlists/2018#">The British Book Awards</a>-shortlisted <em>La Belle Sauvage</em> will then hit bookshelves on 6th September, with new, full-page illustrations by the&nbsp;illustrator&nbsp;Chris Wormell, and a month later the book will feature on the children’s tote bag for Books Are My Bag 2018.</p>
<p>Meryl Halls, m.d. of the Booksellers Association, said: “We are thrilled to see such a creative suite of activity around Philip Pullman from David Fickling Books, Penguin Random House Children’s and Scholastic for Independent Bookshop Week this year – as we all know, Philip coined the term ‘lantern-bearers of civilisation’ for independent bookshops, and I am sure our indie booksellers will be excited at the opportunity to engage their customers in their love for The Book of Dust and Philips’s other works with the Philip Pullman Collection, and the possibility of Philip visiting three indies bookshops for events.”</p>
<p>Ahead of the release of the hardback edition of <em>La Belle Sauvage</em> last year, indie bookshop owners had spoken of their frustration over the <a href="https://www.thebookseller.com/news/heavy-discounts-hardbacks-enormously-detrimental-585451">deep discounting </a>of the title by other retailers.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
</div></div></div> <span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2018-04-19T17:45:00+01:00">April 19, 2018</span><li class="item-inline"><a href="/article-type/news">news</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/categories/childrens">childrens</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/tag/philip-pullman">Philip Pullman</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/tag/scholastic">Scholastic</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/tag/david-fickling-books">David Fickling Books</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/tags-bookseller/penguin-random-house-childrens">Penguin Random House Children&#039;s</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/tags-bookseller/book-dust">The Book of Dust</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/tags-bookseller/la-belle-sauvage">La Belle Sauvage</a></li><div class="field field-name-field-subscriber field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Subscriber :&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">0</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-premium field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">premium:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">0</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-sticky-to-category field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Sticky at top of category lists:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div>Thu, 19 Apr 2018 16:51:50 +0000Charlotte Eyre771201 at https://www.thebookseller.comhttps://www.thebookseller.com/news/indies-offered-chance-win-pullman-visit-771201#commentsFive thousand signed book plates for 'La Belle Sauvage' released to indieshttps://www.thebookseller.com/news/5000-signed-book-plates-and-prints-la-belle-sauvage-released-indies-676801
<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.thebookseller.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/2017/11/21/The%20Book%20of%20Dust%20-%20La%20Belle%20Sauvage_1.png?itok=8oS7zaOy" width="192" height="181" alt="La Belle Sauvage" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Penguin Random House Children’s and David Fickling Books are releasing 5,000 <em>La Belle Sauvage</em> book plates, signed by author Philip Pullman, to independent bookshops as part of <a href="https://www.thebookseller.com/news/indies-debate-pullmans-secret-plans-la-belle-sauvage-660416">“special plans” promised last month</a>. However some booksellers have suggested the "horse has bolted".</p>
<p>The publishers announced it would distribute the limited edition book plates to support independent bookshops with sales of Pullman’s first instalment of The Book of Dust series ahead of Christmas, along with an exclusively produced print by Chris Wormell, the&nbsp;illustrator who produced the <em>La Belle Sauvage</em> cover picture. The signed book plates will be inserted into shops’ existing stock and accompanied exclusively by the prints, available from early December.&nbsp;The prints, which&nbsp;will be&nbsp;mounted and each wrapped in a gold envelope,&nbsp;depict Lord Asriel, his daemon Stelmaria and Lyra as a baby.&nbsp;</p>
<p>In the announcement, PRH Children’s praised the “magical job” that independent booksellers had done of selling the long-awaited accompanying series to His Dark Materials.</p>
<p>David Fickling Books and PRH Children’s will also be working closely with the Booksellers Association and its independent members around special plans for Philip Pullman in 2018.&nbsp; These will especially focus around Independent Bookshop Week (from 16th to 23rd June 2018), which celebrates independent bookshops in the UK and Ireland. More details will be announced in early 2018.</p>
<p>The development is a response to disappointment expressed by from indies<a href="http://https://www.thebookseller.com/news/indies-debate-pullmans-secret-plans-la-belle-sauvage-660416"> last month</a> over the the fact that Waterstones had received 5,000 exclusive signed copies of the book, culminating in a blog from the <a href="http://secretbookseller.com/2017/10/24/philip-pullman-update/">Secret Bookseller</a>. There had also been months of mounting frustration over deep discounting of the hardback, reduced to £10 by major retailers rather than the r.r.p of £20, with Pullman himself calling for the industry to look at the issue of deep discounting.</p>
<p>Ruth Knowles, publisher at PRH Children’s, said “Independent bookshops have done a magical job of selling <em>La Belle Sauvage</em> so far, and its position, for four weeks as the Number 1 bestseller in Nielsen’s Independent Booksellers’ Top 20 Chart, is testament to this. We know that signed copies are coveted by both readers and booksellers which is why we have made these exclusive book plates available.”</p>
<p>Fickling said: “What a gorgeous print by Chris Wormell and one of my favourite scenes. What an exquisite bookplate for a wonderful book by a great writer. We hope they will help bookshops in making <em>La Belle Sauvage </em>the perfect Christmas present for readers. Go Indies!”</p>
<p>However independent booksellers have greeted the news with some scepticism, while also expressing appreciation at the gesture.</p>
<p>Tim West, co-owner of Big Green Bookshop in Wood Green, London, told <em>The Bookseller</em>: “I don’t begrudge Pullman or the publishers their marketing campaign but this story is just another part of this campaign. I&nbsp;wouldn’t go out of my way to order the book plates or prints. A signed copy has much more significance if you have stood in front of the author and said ‘will you sign my book’. I’ve had signed prints before which people haven’t been interested in.</p>
<p>“I would be interested if Pullman visited independent bookshops to do signings [as part of Independent Bookshop Week]. He is a great author, after all.”</p>
<p>Bookseller Richard Drake of The Bookshop in Stockton-on-Tees told <em>The Bookseller</em>: “I have mixed feelings. On the one hand I think it’s brilliant. I like the fact they’re doing something, that Philip Pullman hasn’t ignored it [the issue].”</p>
<p>However Drake expressed disappointment over the book plates. He said: “My gut reaction is there is a horse that seems to have comprehensively bolted at this time. Why didn’t he do signed copies for indies and book plates for Waterstones? This might sound churlish. Yes, signed copies do make a difference, I have used signed book plates in the past, but only if they are buying the book anyway. I haven’t flagged it as a signed copy. There is a difference between a signed book plate and a signed copy."</p>
<p>He added: "We might also get people buying books from WHSmith&nbsp;who will come in and ask us for book plates, I would be astonished if that doesn’t happen. It just feels very much an afterthought.”</p>
<p>Bookshops will be able to request the book plates and prints through their PRH sales representative or by contacting: <a href="mailto:PullmanBookplates@penguinrandomhouse.co.uk">PullmanBookplates@penguinrandomhouse.co.uk</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
</div></div></div> <span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2017-11-21T10:00:00+00:00">November 21, 2017</span><li class="item-inline"><a href="/childrens">Children&#039;s</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/article-type/news">news</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/categories/childrens">childrens</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/tag/philip-pullman">Philip Pullman</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/tags-bookseller/book-dust">The Book of Dust</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/tag/david-fickling">David Fickling</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/tags-bookseller/penguin-random-house-childrens">Penguin Random House Children&#039;s</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/tags-bookseller/la-belle-sauvage">La Belle Sauvage</a></li><div class="field field-name-field-subscriber field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Subscriber :&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">0</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-premium field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">premium:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">0</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-sticky-to-category field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Sticky at top of category lists:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div>Tue, 21 Nov 2017 10:11:59 +0000Heloise Wood676801 at https://www.thebookseller.comhttps://www.thebookseller.com/news/5000-signed-book-plates-and-prints-la-belle-sauvage-released-indies-676801#commentsWeekly E-Ranking: La Belle Sauvage becomes first children's number onehttps://www.thebookseller.com/insight/weekly-e-ranking-la-belle-sauvage-becomes-first-childrens-number-one-667856
<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.thebookseller.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/2017/11/02/La%20Belle%20Sauvage%20192x181.png?itok=LXhaph1U" width="192" height="181" alt="La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>In the same week <em>La Belle Sauvage</em> earned Philip Pullman his first overall number one, it achieved another first in the e-book chart: it is the first Children’s title in E-Book Ranking history to go to number one. Not only has no kids’ title crested the weekly chart before; not a single one has troubled the Monthly E-Book Ranking (est. 2013) number one either.</p>
<p>Kids’ books have so far proved fairly immune to the digital revolution - as shown by the print sector racking up three consecutive years of record-high sales. While younger children’s fiction is hampered in digital by the fact that parents and relatives are often buying them for children as gifts (or distractions), even YA and crossover fiction doesn’t tend to make much of a dent on the e-book charts. The most interesting example is internet-bred Zoella’s unchallenged dominance of the YA charts in print, while not a peep comes from her on the digital front. The vlogger’s fans clearly want a physical way to buy in to the Zoella brand - one they can’t get from mere clicks and views.</p>
<p>While kids’ print behemoths David Walliams and Jeff Kinney have made a grand combined total of three appearances in the Weekly E-Book Ranking, more common are American YA fantasy authors, such as Sarah J Maas and Victoria Aveyard. Maas previously held the record for the highest-charting kids’ title: her <em>A Court of Wings and Ruin</em> came third in May. The success of La Belle Sauvage in digital is a hint that it might not be actual children reading it, but rather Millennial fans of the original His Dark Materials series buying a slice of nostalgia.</p>
<p>George Saunders’ <em>Lincoln in the Bardo</em> swooped straight into the top 10 after winning the Man Booker Prize 2017. Its hardback sales have been a little sluggish so far, with its £20 r.r.p. possibly encouraging potential buyers to either hold out for the paperback, or opt for the e-book or audio download instead.</p>
<p>Festive-themed romance is jingling all the way up both the paperback and e-book charts at the moment - though curiously, a completely different set of titles is benefiting in each format. Annie Groves’ <em>Winter on the Mersey</em>, Daisy Styles’ <em>Christmas with the Bomb Girls</em> and Carole Matthews’ <em>Christmas Cakes and Mistletoe Nights</em> entered the top 20, with Sarah Morgan’s <em>Moonlight Over Manhattan</em> returning.</p>
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<table class="tg">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th class="tg-jzaq">&nbsp;</th>
<th class="tg-axbo">WKS</th>
<th class="tg-axbo">TITLE</th>
<th class="tg-axbo">AUTHOR</th>
<th class="tg-axbo">IMPRINT</th>
<th class="tg-axbo">ISBN (978+)</th>
<th class="tg-axbo">DLP</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-drvn">1</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">1</td>
<td class="tg-axbo">La Belle Sauvage</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">Philip Pullman</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">RHCP</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">1409025474</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">£9.99</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-drvn">2</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">3</td>
<td class="tg-axbo">Origin</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">Dan Brown</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">Transworld</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">1473543348</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">£9.99</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-drvn">3</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">1</td>
<td class="tg-axbo">Why Mummy Drinks</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">Gill Sims</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">HarperCollins</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">0008237509</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">£5.99</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-drvn">4</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">1</td>
<td class="tg-axbo">Fools and Mortals</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">Bernard Cornwell</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">HarperCollins</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">0007504138</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">£12.99</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-drvn">5</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">1</td>
<td class="tg-axbo">State Secrets</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">Quintin Jardine</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">Headline</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">1472205773</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">£7.49</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-drvn">6</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">5</td>
<td class="tg-axbo">A Column of Fire</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">Ken Follett</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">Macmillan</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">1447278764</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">£16.99</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-drvn">7</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">1</td>
<td class="tg-axbo">Lincoln in the Bardo</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">George Saunders</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">Bloomsbury</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">1408871768</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">£9.99</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-drvn">8</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">1</td>
<td class="tg-axbo">Line of Fire</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">Andy McNab</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">Transworld</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">1473543607</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">£9.99</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-drvn">9</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">11</td>
<td class="tg-axbo">The Keeper of Lost Things</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">Ruth Hogan</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">Hodder &amp; Stoughton</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">1473635494</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">£3.99</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-drvn">10</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">5</td>
<td class="tg-axbo">Munich</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">Robert Harris</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">Cornerstone</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">1473519695</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">£9.99</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-drvn">11</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">1</td>
<td class="tg-axbo">Fairytale</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">Danielle Steel</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">Macmillan</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">1509800599</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">£15.99</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-drvn">12</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">19</td>
<td class="tg-axbo">Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">Gail Honeyman</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">HarperCollins</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">0008172138</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">£6.99</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-drvn">13</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">6</td>
<td class="tg-axbo">This is Going to Hurt</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">Adam Kay</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">Picador</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">1509858644</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">£14.99</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-drvn">14</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">1</td>
<td class="tg-axbo">Winter on the Mersey</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">Annie Groves</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">HarperCollins</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">0007550876</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">£3.99</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-drvn">15</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">2</td>
<td class="tg-axbo">Moonlight Over Manhattan</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">Sarah Morgan</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">HQ</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">1474057615</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">£2.99</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-drvn">16</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">7</td>
<td class="tg-axbo">The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">David Lagercrantz</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">Quercus</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">0857056443</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">£8.99</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-drvn">17</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">1</td>
<td class="tg-axbo">Christmas with the Bomb Girls</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">Daisy Styles</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">Michael Joseph</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">1405929813</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">£3.99</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-drvn">18</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">7</td>
<td class="tg-axbo">The Break</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">Marian Kayes</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">Michael Joseph</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">1405918770</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">£9.99</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-drvn">19</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">1</td>
<td class="tg-axbo">Christmas Cakes and Mistletoe Nights</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">Carole Matthews</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">Little, Brown</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">0751560282</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">£6.99</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-drvn">20</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">7</td>
<td class="tg-axbo">The Seagull</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">Ann Cleeves</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">Macmillan</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">1447278375</td>
<td class="tg-iv99">£14.99</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>Data is for week ending 21st October 2017.<br>
T&amp;Cs Titles with a selling price below £2 are excluded, as are titles priced £4.50 or below with any print versions priced above £17.99. Participating publishers: PRH UK, Hachette, HarperCollins, Pan Macmillan, Bloomsbury, Simon &amp; Schuster and Bonnier. <strong>WKS</strong> the number of weeks in chart. <strong>DLP</strong> digital list price.</p>
</div></div></div> <span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2017-11-02T15:30:00+00:00">November 2, 2017</span><div class="field field-name-field-written-by field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Written By:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Kiera O&#039;Brien</div></div></div><li class="item-inline"><a href="/article-type/insight">insight</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/tag/charts">Charts</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/tags-bookseller/weekly-e-ranking">Weekly E-Ranking</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/tag/philip-pullman">Philip Pullman</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/tags-bookseller/book-dust">The Book of Dust</a></li><div class="field field-name-field-subscriber field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Subscriber :&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">1</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-premium field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">premium:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">0</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-sticky-to-category field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Sticky at top of category lists:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div>Fri, 03 Nov 2017 07:00:00 +0000sarah.shaffi@thebookseller.com667856 at https://www.thebookseller.comhttps://www.thebookseller.com/insight/weekly-e-ranking-la-belle-sauvage-becomes-first-childrens-number-one-667856#commentsHundreds turn out for Book of Dust midnight eventshttps://www.thebookseller.com/news/hundreds-fans-turn-out-book-dust-midnight-events-657231
<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.thebookseller.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/2017/10/19/book%20of%20dust%20192x181.png?itok=Jo354xOR" width="192" height="181" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Hundreds of fans turned out to the midnight events held around the country on Wednesday evening (18th October) to celebrate the publication of the first in Philip Pullman's The Book of Dust trilogy. Meanwhile, critics have given the highly-anticipated novel<a href="https://www.thebookseller.com/booknews/critics-give-la-belle-sauvage-thumbs-657226"> rave reviews</a> on its publication day today.</p>
<p>Around 150 people turned out to the event at Waterstones Tottenham Court Road in London to be among the first to get their hands on a copy of <em>La Belle Sauvage </em>(PRH Children's/ David Fickling Books). Widely tipped to be one of the bestselling books of the year, Waterstones' event organiser Rosie Beaumont-Thomas said “preorder sales have been enormous, even higher than we anticipated”. While the publisher declined to reveal sales figures, Kate Skipper, Waterstones’ buying director, said overall its pre-order sales were the biggest since J K Rowling's <em>Harry Potter and the Cursed Child</em> (Little, Brown) last year, which totalled 100,000, and earlier in the week had surpassed Harper Lee's <em>Go Set a Watchman</em> (Arrow), which sold 50,000 copies at the chain in its first week. “There was so much excitement in our shops last might and today; it’s such a treat of a book sell,” she said.</p>
<p>Waterstones Bristol branch took money for 230 pre-orders over the past few months, while 10 deluxe collector signed editions sold out within minutes, Edouard Gallais, events manager at the Bristol event said.</p>
<p>“The evening went very well with about 60 people attending from 9.30pm, all strong fans of the first trilogy," he added. "We had gypsy jazz music, cocktails and snacks on offer and the Penguin quizzes were a good success too.” The branch sold 26 copies on the night.</p>
<p>Meanwhile at Blackwell's in Oxford, around 170 copies were sold, according to sales manager, David Kelly,&nbsp;with 350 fans expected for the signing at the store on Thursday afternoon (19th October).</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/2017/10/19/Jack%20Tindale%20-%20first%20customer_0.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 800px; margin: 5px;"></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Jack Tindale was the first customer to purchase a copy of La Belle Sauvage at Waterstones Tottenham Court Road</em></p>
<p>Heffer’s Bookshop in Cambridge sold around 40 copies last night after 60 people attended to hear authors Chris Priestley and Julian Sedgwick read from the book to a “room full of cheers and hushed anticipation” according to Anna Millward, festival manager for the Cambridge Literary Festival.</p>
<p>At the Tottenham Court Road Waterstones, fans enjoyed readings of the book from poet Mark Grist and chef and writer Kate Young, who made chocolate cake for the event. Throughout the evening, customers also enjoyed "Sauvage Sidecar" cocktails and "chocolatl" (a&nbsp;drink featured in the books).</p>
<p>Waterstones' Beaumont-Thomas said excitement ahead of the launch had been "absolutely massive".&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/2017/10/19/image1_2.jpeg" style="width: 600px; height: 600px; margin: 5px;"></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Waterstones Bristol sold specially made cupcakes</em></p>
<p>"It's been really exciting to bring together fans of the original trilogy and new fans. This is one of the biggest preorder campaigns we've done, it rivals <em>The Cursed Child</em>. Pre-order sales have been enormous, even higher than we anticipated. We're expecting queues outside the shop tomorrow morning and we're anticipating that at shops around the country."</p>
<p>Forty fans were picked in a ballot to receive cloth-bound special editions of the book. The first person to buy the book on the stroke of midnight, Jack Tindale, said:&nbsp;"I remember reading <em>The Amber Spyglass</em> when I was 12 and wondering if there would be something else to follow it up. It's very surreal to think that I'm in my 20s and still just as giddy as when I was a teenager to be at a midnight book launch."</p>
<p>Waterstones is also sporting a "beautifully reimagined" logo on its <a href="http://Waterstones.com">website</a>, reminiscient of the book's cover, featuring two characters in a canoe,&nbsp;created by the cover illustrator Chris Wormell. The retailer tweeted to its 201,000 followers: "The eagle-eyed amongst you will have spotted our website logo has changed - beautifully reimagined by illustrator Chris Wormell.&nbsp;Journey over...&nbsp;to take a look at our special #BookOfDust site-takeover. We don't do this kind of thing for everyone".</p>
<p>The companion book to the His Dark Materials trilogy, penned 22 years later, has been praised by reviewers. Writing in the <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/what-to-read/philip-pullmans-book-dust-la-belle-sauvage-review-rich-dreamlike/"><em>Telegraph</em></a>, Sam Leith gave the title five stars and emphasised its "rich, dreamlike" qualities.&nbsp; “Pullman is an easeful storyteller and an intricate and inventive world-builder, and everything he has to write is worth reading… There’s something dreamlike, almost hallucinatory, about <em>La Belle Sauvage’s</em> watery pilgrim’s progress,” he wrote.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/features/Image.png" style="width: 600px; height: 600px; margin: 5px;"></p>
<p>Writing for the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/oct/18/the-book-of-dust-vol-1-la-belle-sauvage-by-philip-pullman-review"><em>Guardian</em></a>, Marina Warner praised Pullman’s “immense powers”. “Much mythological material is being brewed: a predestined wonderful foundling, a child snatcher, a few treacherously beguiling spectres and perilous fairylands," she said. "Pullman’s immense powers of kinaesthetic visualisation keep the story pulsing on an epic scale as enchanted allegory combines with a full-on retelling of the Biblical story of the flood: defences cave in and banks break under roiling storm clouds, and the familiar world of Oxford and its meadows is drowned.”</p>
<p>The former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams meanwhile offered more muted praise in the <a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/books/2017/10/book-dust-philip-pullman-might-not-be-fond-church-he-intensely-spiritual"><em>New Statesman</em></a> and said two chapters in the book "felt like padding". "For much of the book, the narrative energy keeps up well: Pullman’s style is lively and physically specific, and the descriptions of the flood and its consequences are brilliantly done," he wrote. "But I was puzzled by the way in which the second part seemed artificially lengthened by two chapters that didn’t appear to contribute anything to the flow of the story...&nbsp;It may be that future volumes will shed some light; but in terms of this book, it felt (uncharacteristically) like padding."&nbsp;</p>
<p>A special event for 50 ballot winners was held in Oxford on the eve of publication yesterday (18th October), where Pullman <a href="https://www.thebookseller.com/news/philip-pullman-la-belle-sauvage-657211">revealed</a> ill health had delayed the writing of the book. However, he also revealed the second in the three-part series had already been completed.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
</div></div></div> <span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2017-10-19T10:00:00+01:00">October 19, 2017</span><li class="item-inline"><a href="/childrens">Children&#039;s</a></li><div class="field field-name-field-written-by field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Written By:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Heloise Wood and Caroline Carpenter </div></div></div><li class="item-inline"><a href="/article-type/news">news</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/categories/childrens">childrens</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/tags-bookseller/book-dust">The Book of Dust</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/tag/philip-pullman">Philip Pullman</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/tag/david-fickling">David Fickling</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/tags-bookseller/penguin-random-house-childrens">Penguin Random House Children&#039;s</a></li><div class="field field-name-field-subscriber field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Subscriber :&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">0</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-premium field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">premium:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">0</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-sticky-to-category field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Sticky at top of category lists:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div>Thu, 19 Oct 2017 09:07:34 +0000Heloise Wood657231 at https://www.thebookseller.comhttps://www.thebookseller.com/news/hundreds-fans-turn-out-book-dust-midnight-events-657231#commentsPullman reveals ill health delayed La Belle Sauvagehttps://www.thebookseller.com/news/philip-pullman-la-belle-sauvage-657211
<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.thebookseller.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/2017/10/18/Philip%20Pullman%20La%20Belle%20Sauvage.png?itok=HaEaiPRP" width="192" height="181" alt="Philip Pullman and La Belle Sauvage" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Philip Pullman divulged ill health delayed his writing of the much-anticipated <em>La Belle Sauvage</em>, released today (Thursday 19th October), but revealed the second volume in the The Book of Dust trilogy was already complete. He also said the work was “darker” than His Dark Materials because he feels “more cynical and closer to despair” than he did 22 years ago.</p>
<p>The author told a packed global press conference at the Bodleian Library’s Convocation House in Oxford on Wednesday (18th October), that the last few years of ill health had affected his output and delayed the highly-anticipated book, but he did not go into detail about the illness. “I have been ill for a number of years but I am a lot better now,” he said. “There was a surgical operation… which is why [the book] took some time. I have felt concerned for my health but I am feeling a lot better now.”</p>
<p>However, fans might not have to wait long for the next volume after Pullman revealed he had already completed the second book.</p>
<p>The author said: “It continues in the next two books, the first of which is already written but not yet edited, with a big leap of time. We leap over the intervening 20 years which contains the story of His Dark Materials and the second book shows Lyra as a 20-year-old, as an undergraduate in fact, and the story that is set in motion in this book, will continue after that long interval the seeds which were sewn will start germinating and flowering in the second and third books." PRH said there is no planned publication date as yet.</p>
<p><em>La Belle Sauvage</em> is set in Pullman's home city of Oxford, also the home of Lyra Belacqua in <em>Northern Lights</em>, but opens 10 years earlier when she is a baby. Her father, Lord Asriel, is prevented from seeing her by the high court.</p>
<p>During the press conference Pullman disclosed that the regime of Soviet Russia had influenced an “evil society” in <em>La Belle Sauvage</em>.</p>
<p>When Bodley Librarian Richard Ovenden quizzed Pullman about the "slightly more adult themes” in the book, referring to “slightly darker elements that relate to the children”, the author said: “I think that is true… I’ve got older too… perhaps more cynical and closer to despair...Yes, It is a darker book, I can’t deny, but that’s the book that came to me and need to be told."</p>
<p>He also spoke about the malevolent society called the League of Saint Alexander in the novel. “This [league] institution is newly-created in the book, a way of recruiting children to spy on their neighbours and parents and friends,” he said. “What set that up in my mind was the atmosphere of Soviet Russia where children were encouraged to do that… if you look after them you’re a bad boy, if you betray them you’re a good boy…it’s a horrible notion.”</p>
<p>The novel is jointly published by Penguin Random House UK Children’s and David Fickling Books. Francesca Dow, m.d of PRH Children's told <em>The Bookseller </em>that one of the hardest aspects of the process was making the publishing event a "special moment".</p>
<p>"It is about the readers which is why keeping it under wraps was actually quite a challenge," she said. "We have managed that balance of teasing excitement.” She dismissed any negative impact of <a href="https://www.thebookseller.com/news/book-dust-published-early-netherlands-648286">leaked copies in a bookshop in the Netherlands earlier in the month</a>, saying the issue had “quickly been dealt with and it was fine," adding "it shows the alacrity of booksellers to get the book out there."</p>
<p>Dow also highlighted the “detail that went into creating the book as a physical object and making that exciting too”, praising illustrator Chris Wormell’s cover design.</p>
<p>Pullman's longtime editor, David Fickling, agreed making the book a desirable physical object was vital. “Making the book a physical object is so important, to the whole process… it massively changes the reading”. He added: "It’s a very peculiar thing for a tiny, independent publisher to be twinned with a massive, enourmous one such as PRH, but we met and said it was going to be great."</p>
<p>PRH children’s publisher Ruth Knowles meanwhile revealed that the reaction t<a href="https://www.thebookseller.com/news/philip-pullman-announces-book-dust-publication-equel-his-dark-materials-487156">o the announcement in February</a> had “blown away” the publishers. Since then, Pullman has sold 98% more backlist books than in the same period last year, according to Nielsen BookScan – a total of 85,460 titles.</p>
<p>Bookshops <a href="https://www.thebookseller.com/news/midnight-openings-planned-across-country-pullman-644836">around the country held midnight openings </a>to mark the publication of the book last night, including Blackwell's in Oxford and 15 Waterstones stores.</p>
<p>Kate McHale, Waterstones’ sci-fi and young adult buyer has previously said the chain “fully expects La Belle Sauvage to be one of the biggest books of the year”.</p>
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</div></div></div> <span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2017-10-18T17:00:00+01:00">October 18, 2017</span><div class="field field-name-field-written-by field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Written By:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Heloise Wood</div></div></div><li class="item-inline"><a href="/article-type/news">news</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/categories/childrens">childrens</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/tag/philip-pullman">Philip Pullman</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/tags-bookseller/la-belle-sauvage">La Belle Sauvage</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/tags-bookseller/book-dust">The Book of Dust</a></li><div class="field field-name-field-subscriber field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Subscriber :&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">0</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-premium field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">premium:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">0</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-sticky-to-category field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Sticky at top of category lists:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div>Wed, 18 Oct 2017 23:01:00 +0000caroline.carpenter@thebookseller.com657211 at https://www.thebookseller.comhttps://www.thebookseller.com/news/philip-pullman-la-belle-sauvage-657211#commentsWaterstones to be 'transformed' ahead of Pullman releasehttps://www.thebookseller.com/insight/waterstones-transformed-book-dusts-oxford-614816
<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.thebookseller.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/2017/08/21/Waterstones%20TCR_3.png?itok=sC4rt0pM" width="192" height="181" alt="Waterstones Tottenham Court Road" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Waterstones in Tottenham Court Road (TCR) is set to be “transformed into Lyra’s Oxford” the night before Philip Pullman’s first Book of Dust novel is published.</p>
<p>Caitlin Moran is set to attend the central London store for the celebration of <em>La Belle Sauvage</em>&nbsp;on 18th October. The event will kick off the store's autumn programme, which also includes supper clubs, author events featuring Roddy Doyle and Max Porter and a monthly poetry series.</p>
<p>The midnight opening featuring Moran, Mark Grist and “other special guests” will mark the long-awaited new series from Pullman which returns to the universe of His Dark Materials. He revealed the “equel” in <a href="http://www.thebookseller.com/news/philip-pullman-announces-book-dust-publication-equel-his-dark-materials-487156">February</a> which will be published on 19th October by David Fickling Books and Penguin Random House Children’s.</p>
<p>As part of the new season of events, the TCR Waterstones bar will also host whisky tasting with Bonnie Macbird, Cocktails of the Movies’ masterclass and a supper club hosted by Kate Young of<em> Little Library Cookbook&nbsp;</em>(Head of Zeus).</p>
<p>Podcasters No Such Thing as a Fish, A Gay and A NonGay and Faking Lit will feature new partners including Mixtape Live’s poetry and spoken word, with renowned poets Roger Robinson and Nick Makoha. National Poetry Day will be celebrated with readings and an exhibition from poets and performers.</p>
<p>There will be a discussion around mental health called "Boys Don’t Cry", on 18th September and a panel and screening about Haitian history and politics.</p>
<p>A Waterstones spokesperson said the team will continue to run its monthly book clubs but will no longer be hosting private events or launch parties. Rosie Beaumont-Thomas, formerly a senior account manager at Four Colman Getty, took on the running of the events earlier this year. She told <em>The Bookseller</em> that the decision to no longer hold private events was related to capacity as well as commercial reasons.</p>
<p>Beaumont-Thomas&nbsp;said: "We are doing this to both focus on the public cultural events programme, and also it’s an issue of capacity – we’re limiting ourselves to a maximum two&nbsp;events per week so that the store can still function well commercially, and to ensure that the events are all of a high quality."</p>
<p>Most of the events cost around £5 and “wherever possible” the price of the event is redeemable against the cost of the book that the event promotes.</p>
<p>For more information, visit the Waterstones Tottenham Court Road <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/bookshops/waterstones-tottenham-court-road">website</a>.</p>
</div></div></div> <span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2017-08-21T09:45:00+01:00">August 21, 2017</span><li class="item-inline"><a href="/article-type/news">news</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/categories/retail">retail</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/tag/philip-pullman">Philip Pullman</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/tags-bookseller/waterstones-tottenham-court-road">Waterstones Tottenham Court Road</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/tags-bookseller/book-dust">The Book of Dust</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/tag/caitlin-moran">Caitlin Moran</a></li><div class="field field-name-field-subscriber field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Subscriber :&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">0</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-premium field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">premium:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">0</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-sticky-to-category field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Sticky at top of category lists:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div>Mon, 21 Aug 2017 08:44:55 +0000Heloise Wood614816 at https://www.thebookseller.comhttps://www.thebookseller.com/insight/waterstones-transformed-book-dusts-oxford-614816#commentsSheen to narrate La Belle Sauvagehttps://www.thebookseller.com/news/sheen-hugely-excited-narrate-la-belle-sauvage-614581
<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.thebookseller.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/2017/08/16/michael%20sheen%20192x181.png?itok=2U90Xggq" width="192" height="181" alt="Michael Sheen" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Michael Sheen will narrate the audio version of Philip Pullman’s first instalment of The Book of Dust trilogy.</p>
<p>The "Twilight" actor will read the UK and US edition of <em>La Belle Sauvage</em>, which is to be published on 19th October.</p>
<p>The audiobook is billed as a “unique and unforgettable experience that will delight listeners both old and new” almost 20 years after the final book in His Dark Materials,&nbsp;<em>The Amber Spyglass,&nbsp;</em>was published.</p>
<p>The "Frost/Nixon" star revealed he was “hugely excited” by the <a href="http://www.thebookseller.com/news/philip-pullman-announces-book-dust-publication-equel-his-dark-materials-487156">news in February </a>that Pullman was returning to the story universe of His Dark Materials.</p>
<p>The highly-anticipated title opens 10 years before <em>Northern Lights</em>, the first in the original series and was described by Pullman as neither a sequel nor a prequel to His Dark Materials but&nbsp;an ‘equel’.&nbsp;</p>
<p>It&nbsp;<a href="http://www.thebookseller.com/news/philip-pullman-book-dust-558506">was revealed</a>&nbsp;in May that&nbsp;a new hero will feature: 11-year-old Malcolm Polstead alongside&nbsp;his dæmon, Asta, who live across the river from Godstow Priory, where the nuns are sheltering a baby, Lyra Belacqua, the heroine of His Dark Materials.</p>
<p>Sheen said that the “extraordinary journey” of Lyra and new hero 11-year-old Malcolm Polstead was “one of the most thrilling and enjoyable experiences” he has had as a performer.</p>
<p>The Welsh actor said: “The His Dark Materials trilogy had a profound effect on me. Rarely have I felt such loss on coming to the end of a story. So, as a reader and a fan, I was hugely excited on hearing that Phillip was returning to the story of Lyra and Dust and challenging the Authority. And, as an actor, it was a true privilege to be asked to record <em>La Belle Sauvage</em>, the first book of this new work.</p>
<p>“It was genuinely one of the most thrilling and enjoyable experiences I've had as a performer to sit in that darkened recording studio for three magical days and live inside the story of Malcolm and Lyra and their extraordinary journey.”</p>
<p>Philip Pullman praised the actor's “passion” and “energy”.</p>
<p>He said: “I’ve long admired Michael Sheen not only for his astonishing versatility but also for the passion and energy he brings to all his roles. I was delighted to learn that he’d be willing to read the audiobook of <em>La Belle Sauvage</em>, and I’m sure that listeners will be very excited by the result.”</p>
<p>Richard Lennon, editorial director of audiences and audio, at PRH UK which is co-publishing the book, said: “In this very special recording Michael Sheen’s passion for Philip Pullman’s writing is evident in every moment, and his magnificent reading brings<em> La Belle Sauvage </em>brilliantly to life.”</p>
<p>He added: “The long-awaited publication of the first volume of The Book of Dust is a hugely exciting publishing moment this autumn, and I hope that many readers will discover the magical world of Philip Pullman through this brand new recording.”</p>
<p>His Dark Materials was dramatised in 2003&nbsp;in a multi-voice drama for BBC Radio 4 starring Terence Stamp as Lord Asriel and Lulu Popplewell as Lyra, with a version read by Pullman himself for Audible.</p>
<p>Jack Thorne, who worked with J K Rowling on&nbsp;<em>Harry Potter and the Cursed Child</em>, is currently adapting the His Dark Materials trilogy for BBC1, due for broadcast in 2018.</p>
<p>The storm-swept cover by British artist and illustrator Chris Wormell was <a href="http://www.thebookseller.com/news/cover-first-book-dust-revealed-577856">revealed </a>in June around the same time that Pullman <a href="http://www.thebookseller.com/news/pullman-name-character-nur-huda-el-wahabi-after-bids-top-32k-576121">announced</a> he would name a character in his Book of Dust series Nur Huda el-Wahabi, after a young Grenfell Tower victim. Around £32,400 was raised for victims of the&nbsp;tower block fire in West London&nbsp;through bidders calling on Pullman to name the character after el-Wahabi in the second Book of Dust instalment.</p>
<p>The Authors for Grenfell auction raised <a href="http://www.thebookseller.com/news/publishing-trade-raises-180k-grenfell-victims-587361">more than £180k</a> for the victims altogether.</p>
<p><em>La Belle Sauvage: The Book of Dust Volume One&nbsp;</em>will be published simultaneously on 19th October by David Fickling Books in association with Penguin Random House (PRH) Children’s in the UK and Random House Children’s Books in the US and will be priced at £20 (both hardback and e-book).&nbsp;</p>
<p>The audiobook will also be released on 19th October&nbsp;by Penguin Random House Audiobooks and will cost £20.</p>
<p>An audio clip of Sheen's recording is available <a href="https://soundcloud.com/penguin-books/la-belle-sauvage-by-philip-pullman-read-by-michael-sheen/s-esxGT">here</a>.</p>
</div></div></div> <span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2017-08-16T15:15:00+01:00">August 16, 2017</span><li class="item-inline"><a href="/childrens">Children&#039;s</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/article-type/news">news</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/categories/books">books</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/categories/childrens">childrens</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/tag/philip-pullman">Philip Pullman</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/tags-bookseller/book-dust">The Book of Dust</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/tag/his-dark-materials">His Dark Materials</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/tags-bookseller/michael-sheen">Michael Sheen</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/tags-bookseller/penguin-random-house">Penguin Random House</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/tag/david-fickling">David Fickling</a></li><li class="item-inline"><a href="/tag/david-fickling-books">David Fickling Books</a></li><div class="field field-name-field-subscriber field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Subscriber :&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">0</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-premium field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">premium:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">0</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-sticky-to-category field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Sticky at top of category lists:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div>Wed, 16 Aug 2017 23:01:00 +0000Heloise Wood614581 at https://www.thebookseller.comhttps://www.thebookseller.com/news/sheen-hugely-excited-narrate-la-belle-sauvage-614581#comments